The fight against tobacco no longer takes place only in ministries or among tobacconists. It also takes place on major European routes, at the heart of goods flows. At the end of January, an operation carried out in Savoie by French customs revealed the scale of rapidly expanding trafficking. The result: more than 16 tonnes of tobacco seized, suspected of supplying clandestine cigarette manufacturing workshops.
Tobacco, an ever more expensive product
For twenty years, the price of a pack of cigarettes has continued to increase in France. In the early 2000s, it was still possible to buy a package for around three euros. In 2004, it already cost almost four. The trend has never reversed.
Latest increase: March 1. A pack of 20 cigarettes now costs 13.20 euros on average. This price level reflects a clear and assumed political choice: to make the tax lever the central instrument in the fight against smoking. The objective is to discourage consumption by making the product ever less accessible.
By 2040, some scenarios even suggest a package exceeding 20 euros. This anti-smoking strategy produces contrasting effects. As official prices rise, the gap with black market prices becomes more attractive to consumers. Behind the scenes, sectors are being organized to meet this growing demand.
A revealing road check on the A43
It is in this context that the operation carried out on January 23 by the Modane Route internal surveillance brigade (BSI) took place. Customs officers spot a road complex registered in Poland, parked in an emergency area on the A43 motorway, in the Italy–France direction.
The heavyweight attracts attention. The officers carry out the check. The driver says he comes from Italy and is going to Belgium. The documents presented mention the transport of unmanufactured tobacco, apparently conforming to the declared goods.
But when opening several boxes, an anomaly stands out. The tobacco is already “sauced and cut”, ready to be smoked. The characteristic smell leaves little room for doubt. However, this detail changes everything from a regulatory point of view: it is no longer a question of simple raw tobacco, but of manufactured tobacco, subject to a much stricter tax and customs regime.
The goods therefore do not correspond to the declaration on the consignment note. The suspicion of fraud becomes tangible.
16 tons of tobacco, 16 million potential cigarettes
In total, the seizure concerns 16.2 net tonnes of tobacco. A considerable volume. According to customs estimates, this quantity is equivalent to more than 16 million cigarettes.
The driver is immediately placed in customs detention. The merchandise is immobilized. Samples are taken and analyzed to confirm the exact nature of the product. The results confirm the agents’ initial intuition: it is indeed manufactured tobacco.
Beyond simple irregular transport, the first elements of the investigation suggest a more structured organization. Customs speak of organized gang trafficking likely to supply clandestine cigarette production factories. These illegal workshops, scattered across Europe, transform tobacco into cigarettes ready to be sold on the black market.
Tax gaps stimulate the black market
This case illustrates a worrying phenomenon. France is among the European countries where tobacco is the most expensive. Criminal networks exploit differences in taxation and the free movement of goods to circumvent official circuits.
Tobacco can be purchased or processed in countries with lower taxes and then transported to markets where prices are high. The margin made on illegal resale then becomes substantial. For the organizations involved, the criminal risk is integrated into an overall economic calculation.
Customs authorities regularly point out that this trafficking is not marginal. They feed a parallel market which weakens state tax revenues and the network of tobacconists. Above all, these products escape any health control.
In the case of the Modane seizure, the hypothesis of a destination towards clandestine workshops suggests a structured process: importation of semi-processed tobacco, illegal manufacture of cigarettes, then distribution via discreet circuits – street sales, social networks, undercover deliveries.
A one-off stop in the face of a lasting phenomenon
For customs, the operation constitutes a significant catch. It makes it possible to interrupt a significant illicit flow before it is processed and placed on the market. The 16.2 tonnes seized will not end up packaged in anonymous packages sold at knockdown prices.
But this interception probably represents only a fraction of larger traffic. The Alpine routes, like other strategic routes in Europe, are regularly used to transport sensitive goods. Targeted controls, based on risk analysis and the experience of agents, remain a key link in the system.
